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Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is the feature film version of Mystery Science Theater 3000, in which Mike Nelson and the 'Bots riff on This Island Earth. The movie A scientist is recruited by a think-tank, only to learn it is part of a wide-ranging scheme to relocate a doomed alien race to Earth. ''MST3K: The Movie'' Host segments * Prologue: Dr. Clayton Forrester introduces himself and his experiment to the world. He makes a strong case for the "mad" part of mad scientist, but the scientist part is up for debate. *'Segment One:' Mike Nelson is finishing his daily workout when Tom Servo runs up and presents a problem: fellow Bot Crow T. Robot has convinced himself he can tunnel through the bottom of the ship and get back to Earth, conveniently ignoring the empty vacuum of space in between. Attempts to stop Crow result in danger, laughs, and a new sensation for Servo. *'Segment Two:' Gypsy happily pilots the ship until the Bots dare Mike to try. He succeeds ...in crashing the Satellite of Love into the poor, abused Hubble. Trying to put things right, he uses the SOL's manipulator arms - pressing the Manos button to activate it - to free the Hubble from the SOL's hull, only to have it fall down to the earth after being released, much to the dismay of Mike. Gypsy cleans up the mess while the boys head back. *'Segment Three:' Reminded by the movie, the boys go searching through Servo's room for his misplaced Interociter. Mike and Crow learn about Tom's strange obsession with men's underpants. Finding the Interociter puts them into contact with Benkitnorf the Metalunan, who tries to help them use it to escape but not being very familiar with the machine ends up repeatedly shooting Servo in the head with laser beams. The signal is cut of by Forrester (a la The Wicked Witch of the West) and sends them back to the theater. *'Segment Four:' The crew holds a "Metalunan mixer" to celebrate them getting through the movie. Dr. F has an Interociter of his own which he attempts to use to make the SOL crew regret their joy. He ends up stranding himself in poor Benkitnorf's bathroom. *'Stinger': No stinger, but Mike and the Bots do riff on the credits to their own movie! Callbacks * In the scene in Tom Servo's bedroom, to the left of the interocitor, is Tom Servo's portrait of his "Ideal family" (Haley Mills, Peggy Cass and Gigantor) from the episode ''I Accuse My Parents''. * The control panel for the robotic arms that Mike uses to grab the Hubble is marked "Manos." Manos, along with being Spanish for "hands", is also a reference to the movie Manos: The Hands of Fate. During the sequence, the musical score includes a refrain from Torgo's theme. Obscure References *''"It's a Long Way to Tipperary"'' :Crow is singing this song while making a hole in the spaceships hull. This is probably a reference to the movie Das Boot where this song is sung by the crew. The U96 is sunk by to a torpedo hit ("hole in the hull"). *''"Space... The FINAL frontier.... These ARE the VOYages of Babylon 5..."'' :Servo references both Star Trek and Babylon 5, while making fun of William Shatner's style of acting. *''"The light from these credits originated 7,000 years ago..."'' :Mike is doing an impression of Carl Sagan. *''"Oh look, Orion is bankrupt!"'' :Orion Pictures was a now-defunct movie studio that went bankrupt in the early 1990s. *''"John Sununu goes for a haircut."'' :Tom is referring to John H. Sununu, famous for his forced resignation as White House Chief of Staff due to his inappropriate use of government aircraft for personal use. Tom says the line with a tired tone because of the joke's overuse during the series. * "Oh jeez, there's soccer teams laying all over the place!" '' :''Tom's referencing the 1993 biographical survival drama film Alive ''which was about a Uruguayan rugby team who were involved in the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed into the Andes mountains, and the survivors reluctantly resorted to eating the flesh of the passengers who died. * "''Look out President Clinton!" :A reference to an incident that occurred on September 12, 1994, where a man named Frank Eugene Corder flew a stolen civilian airplane to the White House, intending to hit the building to try to gain publicity, but ended up dying in the crash. *''"Ow, that ringing! Now he knows what the world sounds like to Pete Townshend!"'' :Tom is referencing The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, who suffers from deafness from tinnitus due to his overexposure to loud music and/or Keith Moon detonating his drum set next to his ears on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. *''"Ah, been ordering from the Adam & Eve collection again, HMMMMMMM?"'' :The Adam & Eve Collection is a mail-order "marital aid" catalog. *''"Your camera will pick up nothing but smoke and fog!" "Oh, it's a GoldStar."'' :GoldStar was a brand of inexpensive consumer electronics manufactured in South Korea. *''"Oh, PLEASE let us get the Sci-Fi Channel! Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease!"'' :An inside joke, as during filming, Best Brains was in negotiations with the Sci-Fi Channel to pick up the series. *''"Your in-flight movie is 'Fearless'!"'' :Fearless was a film about survivors of a devastating plane crash. *''"What's this 'and the rest' crap?!"'' :Russell Johnson played The Professor on Gilligan's Island. The "And the rest" is a reference to the first season's opening song, which referred The Professor and Mary Ann not by name, but only as "And the rest...". Later seasons changed the lyrics to include the two characters. *''"So Professor, you made this car entirely out of bamboo, huh?"'' and "His coffin will be made entirely of coconuts." :Yet more references to Russell Johnson's role as The Professor. *''"You two are beginning a strange journey." "Mawwiage!"'' :Crow is imitating the lisping priest from The Princess Bride. *''"Oh they're flying into a Roger Dean album cover."'' *''"Yeah they're really into 'Yes' on this planet."'' :Roger Dean is a British-born artist whose work consists of both surreal and organic imagery with heavy sci-fi/fantasy elements. Yes is one of the many bands for which he illustrated album covers. *''"Ow, I fell on my keys!"'' :One of Gene Wilder's memorable quotes from the 1967 Mel Brooks comedy The Producers. *''"Oh, there's gonna be a Mary Kay convention too, so it's gonna be kind of weird."'' :The hotel that hosted the first MST3K convention, the ConventioCon ExpoFest-A-Rama, in 1994, was hosting a Mary Kay convention at the same time, which resulted in some rather odd interactions between attendees of the two conventions. Memorable Quotes : Servo: Dum-da-dum-dum-dum.... oh, hello Mike! Everything working fine on the ol' Satellite of Love? No problems or mishaps today? :: Mike: Nope, everything appears to be nominal. :: Servo: Ah, nominal! Good! Good! So I guess you're not wondering what that rhythmic pounding might be? :: Mike: listens Yeah, what is that? :: Servo: Yeah, what is that? I'm a highly sophisticated robot, Mike, and I've got to tell you, this isn't normal. Something's causing this, Mike. Now, let's see... I'm here, you're here, Gypsy's here.... :: Mike: Okay, Tom. Where's Crow? :: Servo: Where's Crow? Well, I wasn't supposed to say anything, but I did see the little moron heading to the basement with a pick-axe in his hands! : breaches the satellite's hull as he tries to escape, causing the air to be sucked out :: Crow: Whoa, I didn't expect this! :: Servo: Attaining.... maximum RPM.... adjust pitch and yaw thrusters..... stabilize! There, that ought to— sucked towards hole AAAAAAAAAAH!!! :: . . . :: Crow: Well, this is confusing! Mike, could you hand me my calculations? :: wad of paper is blown across the bay and hits Crow in the face. :: Crow: Thank you! Huh, would you look at that: "Breach Hull - All Die"! Even had it underlined! :: . . . :: lands right-side up on the hole :: Servo: Hey, I'm experiencing a sensation altogether new to me, and frankly... I LOVE IT! :: . . . :: explains his unsuccessful attempt to burrow a way out of the Satellite of Love. :: Crow: Believe me, Mike, I calculated the odds of this succeeding against the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid… and I went ahead anyway. : Dr. Forrester: Now, prepare yourself for... oh, but before I start the experiment... did you... y'know, go? :: Mike, Crow, Servo: dejected Yes... :: Dr. Forrester: Because I don't want to have to stop the movie for... y'know... :: Mike, Crow, Servo: You won't... :: Dr. Forrester: Then, prepare yourself for This Island Earth! :: International credit appears on screen, as well as a globe-like Earth :: Crow: It's the nicest weather Earth has ever had! :: Mike: Notice how big Japan is? :: International credit appears on screen :: Mike: Isn't the fact that it's Universal make it International? :: Island Earth" appears on the screen :: Servo: This Island Earth can be yours if The Price is Right! :: the opening credits :: Crow: Boy, the universe is really cruisin'! :: Servo: Hey, there's Taurus the bull! :: Mike: And over there's the Constellation Feces. :: Crow: Oh, look. Orion is bankrupt. :: Servo: When in California, be sure to visit beautiful... :: words "Washington, D.C." appear on screen :: Servo: ...oh. :: Crow: golf announcer It's a long, Par 5 on the way to the nation's capital. :: Mike: Washingtonland, the new Disney theme park! :: camera pans over a shot of a snow-capped mountain range. :: Servo: Oh jeez, there's soccer teams laying all over the place! :: running up the communications tower stairs. :: Mike Joe: "Put the men's room in the tower"...WHAT was I thinking!?! :: plane, engines out, is coasting in to a crash landing when it is suddenly suffused with a mysterious green glow. :: Mike Meacham: Suddenly I have a refreshing mint flavor. :: Servo: Early LSD tests in the Air Force. :: running towards the Jeep :: Crow: Into the Weenie Mobile! WEENIE MAN AWAY! :: the lab, through a viewport, we see a rectangular metal slab suspended above a squat, boxy metal coil. :: Mike: Oh, yeah. This is when science didn't have to have any specific purpose. :: Dr. Meacham: Lowering the cylinder. :: Servo Meacham: Inserting the breakfast pastry. :: Crow Narrator: darkly The secret government Eggo project. :: Servo Meacham: Contact Dr. Jemima! :: Mike Meacham: God, I love the blueberry ones best. :: flips a switch. The toaster-like coil starts to red with heat, and we hear a pinging sound. :: Dr. Meacham: Increase the rate of reaction. :: Servo Meacham: Start warming the syrup! :: Mike Meacham: Yum! :: and Joe play with some knobs and dials. The "toaster" emits loud grinding noises. :: Dr. Meacham: Check rate of radioactive decay. :: Crow Meacham: Increase the Flash Gordon noises and put more science stuff around. :: . . . :: the end of the experiment, the toaster object blows up. :: Mike Meacham/Morrison: Oh, my God! My waffle! Oh, the humanity! :: loud beeping noise follows post-explosion. :: Mike: Fries are up! :: Joe: Here's something my wife could use around the house. :: Crow: A man? :: Meacham: This isn't paper. It's some sort of metal. :: Crow Joe: No, sir. That's paper! :: Meacham and Joe have just unpacked the parts to the Interocitor. :: Tom Servo: But before unpacking - D'OH! :: Meacham: There are 2,486 parts. :: is stepping around the spread out Interocitor parts. Crow makes a loud crunching sound. :: Crow Joe: Uh, 485, sir! :: Joe walks around the parts, Crow keeps making crunching noises with every step Joe takes. :: Joe: Where do we start? :: Meacham: Right here. towards strange symbol on blueprint. :: Mike Meacham: At Goofy Clown Face! :: Joe: You know what my kids would say... :: Mike: interrupting "You're not my real father!" :: Joe: "Dig this crazy, mixed-up plumbing!" :: Meacham: Plug it in, Joe. :: Mike: Doesn't even have any kids. Poor, deluded Joe. :: Exeter: My name is Exeter. :: Mike Exeter: Doug Exeter. : Exeter: Stand aside, please. You too, Dr. Wilson. :: Servo Exeter: No, farther towards the killzone, please! :: Crow Exeter: Yeah, God I'm good! :: notices the plug for the Interocitor :: Servo Meacham: Dear God, I left the iron plugged in! :: rushes over to unplug the Interocitor, which starts sparking, causing him to lose balance. Joe rushes over to help him up :: Crow Joe: Oh, come here, you big, dumb dope! :: Interocitor is now ablaze :: Servo: Quick, get the baking soda! :: Mike: Boy, the landlady's going to be mad! :: Servo landlady: knocking noise Are you boys cooking up there?! :: Mike: No! :: Servo landlady: Are you building an Interocitor?! :: Mike: casually No! :: pushes a microphone-like Geiger counter probe toward the Interocitor wreckage. :: Mike Meacham: Now that you've exploded, any words for our listeners? :: plane landing at the meeting point in a rural field. :: Crow: Huh...They're forcing him to visit Branson, Missouri. :: exits the plane and surveys the rural setting. :: Mike: So the aliens live in "Hooterville?" :: enters the scene :: Mike: Hey, Charlie Rich! :: Crow: He goes through a lot of Brylcreem. :: enters the elevator, looking sternly at Meacham and Adams. :: Crow Adams: Don't mention his head. :: Exeter: Dr. Meacham! Good morning! :: Meacham: Good morning. :: Exeter: Please, come in. Both of you. :: Servo Exeter: We're glad you could join us at the Buddy Ebsen society! :: Carlson: Dr. Adams. :: Ruth: Yes Steve? :: Mike Carlson: What's this "and the rest" crap? :: Meacham: What I want to know is... :: Exeter: interrupting Who we are.... why we're here. :: Servo Exeter: And why I have a picture of a burger on the wall. :: Adams: Be careful. Exeter could flatter you to death. :: Exeter: The truth is never flattering, Dr. Adams. :: Servo Exeter: You fine, foxy lady! :: and his "team" are having an elegant dinner, complete with music by Mozart. :: Meacham: What do you think of Mr. Mozart, Exeter? :: Exeter: I'm afraid I don't know the gent— :: Servo Exeter: I'm not an alien! :: Exeter: My mind must have been wandering. Your composer, of course. :: Meacham: Our composer? He belongs to the world. :: Exeter: Yes, indeed. :: Mike Exeter: I'm not an alien. :: . . . :: Exeter: We won't start cracking the whip on Meacham until tomorrow. :: Servo Exeter: Then I ram my ovipositor down your throat and lay my eggs in your chest — but I'm not an alien! :: Adams, and Carlson looking at sketches of Exeter and Brack :: Carlson: Did you notice the peculiar indentations in both of their foreheads? :: Servo: sarcastically NO!!! :: Mike: So, they're going to escape under the cover of afternoon in the biggest car in the county? :: Adams, and Carlson dive down a road at high speeds. :: Crow: Ness and his men speed towards Capone's hideout! :: Metalunans are seen in the conversion tubes. :: Crow: Ladies and gentlemen, A Flock of Seagulls. :: board Exeter's spaceship, Cal and Ruth stand on a "conversion" platform. :: Exeter: Place your hands above the rails. :: hear the sound of static as the scientists' hands are suddenly pulled onto the rails. :: Exeter: They're magnetized. :: Mike Exeter: And if your hands were metal, that would mean something. :: Exeter: That's enough. Normal view. :: Mike, Servo, and Crow: in time with the dramatic music Nor-mal view. Nor-mal view! Nor-mal view! NOR-MAL VIEWWWWWW! :: Exeter: RUTH! MEACHAM! :: Servo Exeter: I LOVE YOU! :: Meacham: up boulder Stand back, Exeter! :: Exeter: Meacham, please! You have to believe me! :: Mike Exeter: You're holding a Mutant turd! :: Meacham and Exeter running through the Metalunan ruins. :: Servo Exeter: You know, I swear we parked on level 'C' right next to....(They run into the Mutant)...Oh, SH**!! : Exeter: the Mutant Stand back. I command you, STAND BACK! :: Mike: ACTING! :: Crow Exeter: Well, that went well. I can't possibly think of what could go... :: Mutant attacks Exeter, Crow mimics screams of pain :: starts beating on the Mutant's exposed brain :: Crow the Mutant: OH, I'M VERY VULNERABLE THERE! OH, THERE GOES THE PIANO LESSONS! OH, NOW I CAN'T REMEMBER MY DAD! :: wounded Mutant approaching Ruth's tube trying to get her. :: Crow the Mutant "wooing" Ruth: Shall I compare thee to a summer's da...(suddenly collapses)...ooohhhhh. :: Servo the Mutant trying to get back up: OK....ease up...rise above it.... :: Mike his Rocky impersonation for the Mutant: You gotta cut me Mick...cut me! :: Crow Ruth: Oh, Carl. :: Servo Meacham: Uh, Cal. :: Crow Ruth: ... oh, Cal. :: Ruth: Home... :: Meacham: Thank God it's still here. :: Crow: And Friday! :: Crow: about the Puppet Wrangler credit for Mystery Science Theater 3000 "Puppet Wrangler"? There weren't any puppets in this movie! :: name "Rando Schmook" appears in the credits :: Mike: Hey, it's the Amazing Rando! :: Servo: Watch Rando the Great construct sets with his very mind! :: Crow Rando: Now, we've never met before, have we? :: name "Julie Walker" appears :: Crow: Julie Walker: Texas Ranger. :: for Eastman Film. :: Servo: Eastman: He came out of the east to do battle with the Amazing Rando! :: end with "all rights reserved" :: Mike: All rights are reserved, Callahan! :: Crow Clint Eastwood: Oh yeah? Well, what about the rights of that little girl? Behind the scenes ''MST3K'' cast ' as Benkitnorf']] * Michael J. Nelson - Mike Nelson * Trace Beaulieu - Crow T. Robot / Dr. Clayton Forrester * Kevin Murphy - Tom Servo * Jim Mallon - Gypsy * John Brady - Benkitnorf Production notes The "amped-up" remix of the theme song done for the movie trailer is by popular comedian and long-time MST3K friend Dave (Gruber) Allen. Cinematography was done by Jeff Stonehouse. Trivia * Mike can be seen reading an issue of Satellite News in the opening host segment. * TV's Frank's face appears on one of the doors in the door sequence. * At ninety minutes, each episode of the television series is actually longer than the movie runs (73 minutes). * MST3K: TM was released in a number of non-English-speaking countries, including Brazil http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000:_The_Movie, Thailand http://www.mst3ktemple.com/stuff-mem-tm.html, the Netherlands http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Science_Theater_3000#Bioscoopfilm, Spain, Finland, Italy http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117128/releaseinfo#akas and Germany. The German version was translated by comedian Oliver Kalkofe, who in many cases rewrote riffs to replace American-centric cultural references with references that would be more familiar to a German audience. The Brazilian version was retitled O Filme Mais Idiota do Mundo ("The Most Idiotic Movie in the World"). * When Universal originally released the movie, they thought that a limited release in a select group of "college towns" (where they believed MST3K was most appreciated) over a longer period of time would lead to a box office bonanza and keep it from having to compete with the early summer blockbusters like Twister and Mission: Impossible. Instead, very few fans of the show were even aware that the movie had been released and the film languished in relative obscurity throughout the spring and early summer. This was the first (and last) time that Universal attempted such a plan. * At one point, Crow quips, "Oh, PLEASE, let us get the Sci-Fi Channel, oh please, oh please, oh please!" At the time, the production company Best Brains was negotiating a deal to air on the Sci-Fi Channel. * The TV show's usual density of gags was reduced for theatrical audiences, so that a larger number of people laughing wouldn't cause too much dialogue to be missed. * The makers of MST3K were so annoyed by their experiences having to work within a major studio on this film that they later parodied the experience on the TV series. In episode 704: The Incredible Melting Man the host segments are about Crow's screenplay being purchased by a studio then ruined by the executives (Dr. Forrester and Mother Forrester) as they vainly try to shoot it and screen it for audiences. Series writer and star Mary Jo Pehl would later call the episode an "exercise in healing" after the ordeal of MST3K: The Movie. * By many accounts, making the movie was not a happy experience for the filmmakers, due to frequent studio interference. Years later, at a cast reunion appearance in New York City, Trace Beaulieu was asked what the worst movie featured on MST3K was. His reply was, "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie". * Most of the puppeteering for Gypsy was done by Patrick Brantseg (who would later take over both the puppeteering and voice partway through season 8 of the TV series) and the voice was dubbed in later by Jim Mallon. This was so Mallon could focus on directing the scene rather than operating the puppet. * Unusually for the series, Forrester has no sidekick in this film. Thus, it is likely set between Seasons 6 and 7, as TV's Frank permanently died at the end of the former and Pearl took his place at the beginning of the latter. Deleted Scenes The original film featured an additional host segment and a completely different ending: *In the cut segment, often called "The Storm Shelter Sequence", the movie is interrupted by a sudden meteor shower. The crew flees to the SOL's storm shelter, only to have the air supply damaged by one of the meteors. Mike begins to asphyxiate (Crow: "So what? Who needs air?" Mike: (annoyed) "I'' do."), and the Bots panic. Servo summons up his courage to help Mike by pushing the button to restart the air by launching himself full-tilt at it with his hoverskirt. Mike is saved, the storm passes, and the gang returns to the theater at Dr. F's insistence. *The original ending shows Mike's plan to get back at Dr. F for ''This Island Earth. Dr. F appears in the Hexfield Viewscreen seeking out the crew for groveling. Only Servo is present; he distracts Dr. F with flattery while Mike, Gypsy, and Crow bring the Interociter out of Tom's room. Mike hooks Gypsy's tubing from the Interocitor to the Hexfield, Crow dumps out the last survivor of his ant farm, and the crew Interocicizes it, turning Debbie the ant into Scrotor, the alien from the movie (played by Jef Maynard). The tube sends Scrotor into Deep 13, where he vanquishes Dr. F and leaves to get a Hollywood agent. The crew celebrates their victory until they realize Crow is missing. He's back down in the bottom of the ship with the chainsaw he found earlier in Servo's room... German dub In 1997, the film was dubbed into German, with a script by Oliver Kalkofe, Oliver Welke & Heike Kospach Cast *Tom Servo - Oliver Kalkofe *Mike Nelson - Andreas Liebold *Crow T. Robot - Oliver Welke *Gypsy - Sabine Bulthaup *Dr. Clayton Forrester - Asso Richter *Ben Kitnors - Oliver Kalkofe Video Releases The film has been released several times on video: * Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie was released on VHS by MCA/Universal Home Video to rental outlets on October 1, 1996. * The film was released for retail sales on April 8, 1997 on both VHS and Laserdisc formats. * The film was released on DVD in 1998 by Image Entertainment, as a discount title with an MSRP of $14.99. * The German dub was released on DVD on April 6, 2006 with several extras including: **''Wie Alles Begann, a making-of feature from 1997 **8 Jahre Später, a look back on the production **The original German trailer for ''The Movie **A second disc with This Island Earth, under its German title, Metaluna 4 Antwortwt Nicht ("Metaluna 4 Doesn't Respond") **Audio tracks for both films in English and German * Universal re-released the DVD on May 6, 2008. The film is in anamorphic widescreen, and includes an upgraded Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, and English subtitles, a first for an MST3K DVD * On September 3, 2013 Shout! Factory released a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack Collector's Edition of the film with the following extras: **New animated menus by Dave Long https://mitternachtkino.blogspot.com/2019/09/mst3k-this-island-earth-menu-ensemble.html **''The Making of Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie'' **''Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie: The Motion Picture Odyssey'' * **''This Island Earth: 2 1/2 Years in the Making'' * **Deleted scenes **Theatrical trailer **Double-sided cover (side A done in the style of the box set slim cases, side B in the style of the single disc re-releases) * A Ballyhoo Motion Pictures documentary Gallery Card-1.jpg|Promotional trading card Card-3.jpg|Promotional trading card Card-2.jpg|Promotional trading card Card-back.jpg|Back of the promotional trading cards The Movie Crew pose together..jpg|''The Movie'' crew poses together. The Movie VHStape cover.jpg|VHS release of the film by Gramercy Pictures. MST3KMovie1998.jpg|Earlier DVD release by Universal Pictures. Recent DVD re-release.jpg|Recent DVD re-release by Universal sister company Rogue Pictures. Promotional pic1.jpg|Promo pics. Gypsy in the movie.jpg|Promo photo from a deleted scene Movie pics.jpg ShoutFactoryMovieBluDVD.jpg|Shout! Blu-ray/DVD combo mst3kmoviealternate.jpg|Alternate Blu Ray cover British DVD Cover.jpg|British DVD Cover MST3K Cover Deu.jpg|German DVD Cover External links *Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie at the Internet Movie Database References Category:MST3K Category:Movies that got good reception Category:Star Trek spoofs Category:Movies directed by Jim Mallon Category:Film adaptations